The last few weeks have been so crazy with Chirstmas stuff and freelance work that my sketchbook has been gathering dust. Tonight I was reading some excellent material by master artist Glen Vilppu and I was reminded again how important it is–crucial even–that I keep sketching, learning, and growing as an artist. The more I learn about drawing, the more I realize how little I really know.

The final issue of the Opposite Forces mini-series (created by Tom Bancroft) is now in stores. I had the privilege of inking issues #3 and #4, coloring was done by Josh Ray. It’s a great series, fun for kids and adults. If you comic book store doesn’t carry it, ask them to order one for you from Alias Publishing.

Also, I should take a moment to plug Tom’s excellent new book on character design, Creating Characters with Personality. It will be available in February but you can pre-order yours now.

This is my first attempt at illustrating my own sequentiual art project (that’s fancy artist talk for a comic book). It’s an 8-page gospel tract created for Living Waters, a publisher in California. You can read the whole thing by clicking here or on the image above.

The concept of tracts has always fascinated me. A good tract will grab someone’s attention in a clever or entertaining way and then at least get them to think. But a bad tract will just irritate someone and wind up in the garbage. Hopefully mine falls in the “good” category. I was going for something similar in concept to Chick tracts, minus the abrasive writing and outdated art.

Anyway, please post a comment and let me know what you think about the art and/or writing. Don’t pull any punches. I know not everyone will agree with the content, but I really want honest feedback (especially from non-Christians since that is the target audience). Thanks!

My wife and I had a great Christmas vacation. We took a road-trip from Minnesota to Texas (our first big trip together), and came back just in time for a New Year’s Eve party.

Last night my wife and I were watching a show called “Dog: The Bounty Hunter” on A&E. Dog has a very unique face. This was my quick attempt to caricature him. Not sure if it was successful, but it was fun to just doodle a little in front of the TV.

This illustration dates back to my early days as a freelancer (1998?), before I even owned a computer. A publisher had hired me to illustrate the Christmas story from Luke 2:11, “A Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord”.

Also, here’s a fun Christmas Quiz that includes an important Christmas message. I got 6 of the quiz questions right. Hopefully you can do better than me.

Warm Christmas wishes to one and all!

Here’s some animal sketches for a curriculum project I’m working on.